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My husband wants to build our own home, being our own general contractor and finding subs to do the work. Neither of us are in the building industry. I am hesitant but he seems to think we can do it and build a house for much cheaper than if we were to go through a builder. Has anyone done this before? Or know anyone who has? HELP!
Many of my family members have built their own homes, I have not (I do not swing a hammer......it's just not a skill I have ).
Four years ago, I built a home through a developer - I chose a floor plan, chose my lot, chose my upgrades and moved in 6 months later.
At the same time, a close family member had bought a lot and began building his house........he still hasn't moved in. He and his wife have devoted four years to the home, worked on it constantly, had additional family help and hired subs for some parts of it.
His home was recently appraised at a value nearly identical to what my own home cost me (within $5k).......but that was 4 years ago. Meanwhile, my home value has skyrocketed well beyond what I paid for it (and I've been living in it all this time).
Granted, 4 years is an unusually long time to have a house built, but over a year is common (plenty of people run into the two year mark before they can move in).
In addition, these days, mortgage companies and insurers are shying away from individual home builders, so you may have some challenges there.
It sounds like a wonderful idea, and many people can pull it off just fine and be very happy with the process and the end result, but it can also be fraught with difficulties......I'd map it all out on paper in great detail before I'd even buy the lot.
Best of luck with your decision .
Last edited by riveree; 07-30-2007 at 04:19 PM..
Reason: "own" misspelling
My best friend is doing this, however he's intimately familiar with everything about building a house.
Like riveree said... unless you really know what you are doing, it could end up being a nightmare.
Consider your income, and place a value on your time. Then place a value on your sanity. If you're unable to value your sanity, call any cell phone provider and tell them there is a problem with your phone. After an hour of this, you should have a sense of what I mean.
Figure it will take you a bare minimum of 50% longer doing it yourself. How much work will need to be missed? If no work is missed, how much extra work could you have done instead of messing with the house?
Unless you're saving a ridiculous amount of money I personally don't think it's worth it. Well assuming you don't have a solid background in building, or at least very familiar with everything that needs to be done.
just my 2.75 cents (inflation)
P.S. look into construction to perm loans also, when you're looking at financing.
does your husband know title 24 codes for windows and lighting? does he know how a roof should be built? does he know how to check concrete for the right mix, does he know how electrical wiring has to be done to code? if you answered no to any of these, i wouldn't do it...just imagine your husband just spent 2 weeks wiring the house, the inspector comes and it fails...he either starts over or hires and electrician....they pour your foundation, it's not exactly plumb, your husband starts framing and finds our the foundation is off 2" in some places....now what...
I agree with riveree, unless you have unlimited time, patience, money and an abidding love for your husband and you want to stay married...hire a professional contractor!
My husband wants to build our own home, being our own general contractor and finding subs to do the work. Neither of us are in the building industry. I am hesitant but he seems to think we can do it and build a house for much cheaper than if we were to go through a builder. Has anyone done this before? Or know anyone who has? HELP!
it can be done. I would reccomend finding a really good reputable designer. They can help you through the entire process, from design to finding companys to construct for you. It is a very hard thing being your own builder, it takes some patience, i would also reccomend finding some books on construction methods. you can get ripped off very easy if you dont know whats happening.
the design phase is a must, with a good designer too. Check references. and look at the Reuse plans the designer might have, they tend to be less expensive than starting a home design from scratch. most designers will keep them on hand for quite a few years, and are willing to make minor changes.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
bassicaly if the above posters would please re-read. they are not doing the construction themselves. They are wanting to act as the Builder, finding the sub-contractors who are licensed profesionals in the field, that would construct the house for them.
As a homebuilder's son, I can tell you that homebuilding causes more divorces than infidelity.
I built my own home, but even I chose to have a general contractor to watch the day to day activities. My father had retired from the business, and I was able to get him to run my building project as I work full time in another industry now.
Acting as a General Contractor or Supervisory Agent is a full time job and a half. You have to know enough to realize when your subs are trying to sneak something by or when they just made a mistake. You have to be able to negotiate contracts with the subs that keep the costs down without cutting so close that they cannot make a profit. Lack of profit motivates cheating and corner cutting. The Subs will try to make their profit at your expense instead of working with you to help everyone win.
If you get under-experienced subs they may not know local codes or have proper insurance etc....you are responsible for their mistakes, accidents, infractions. You have to be able to see the problems before they manifest, or be able to afford to pay for them afterwards.
I would NOT act as my own general contractor without some specific real world experience on that job. If you really want to be hands on and arrange your own subs, consider hiring someone to act as onsite general on your behalf. Might be tough to find someone, but if you can you will be much better off.
We have had clients that have decided to act as their own contractor thinking that they would be able to save the contractors profit. They usually wound up over the contractor's bids by 30% or more. A few were successful because they hired an architect to help them with construction management and the bidding process. I would highly recommend doing that. You must have some knowledge pertaining to contract law and very, very clear contracts for all your sub-contractors spelling out extras, change orders, etc. Make sure the subs are all licensed and bonded. You can get snagged with poorly written contracts or a lack thereof. Your plans are your first line of defense. It is wise to have well prepared, well detailed construction documents so you can avoid any confusion in the field, which would lead to extras and change orders. Have sufficient insurance. Have extra money as well. There are books you can find online that can help guide you along with some companies that will "Help U Build." Best of luck to you.
bassicaly if the above posters would please re-read. they are not doing the construction themselves. They are wanting to act as the Builder, finding the sub-contractors who are licensed profesionals in the field, that would construct the house for them.
I caught that part. In my example, my family member subbed out much of the work. He did the framing, the roof and some of the interior finish work (almost done ), but he subbed out the foundation, electric, plumbing, granite countertops, etc.
One of his problems was that he had counted on subbing out a large amount of the work to another family member, who soon bailed. So that changed the budget and everything else.
And this was not the first house he'd built - it was just the first one for himself. He's worked alongside other members of the family when they've built their houses, and he's worked in construction.
I think his original intent was to sub it all out except for the few pieces he wanted to do on his own, but the reality of dollars set in and he ended up doing more than he planned on his own.
It's not to say the OP can't have a wonderful experience, it might work out great for them. But I think it's something you do because you really want to do it. You may not save any money at all.
it is a very stressfull thing if you are not understanding how the house is built. I know i can confuse people when i say that "that living room window has several point loads that require larger than normal squash blocks on the foundation below" most peoples questions come like "what is a point load" or "what are squash blocks" two industry terms that are used commonly.
BTW, "point load" is where a bearing point of a beam / truss / floor above is putting direct pressure on the structure below,
"squash blocks" are placed under these point loads along the foundation's edge so the posts above dont punch a hole through the plywood of the floor. bassicaly bringing that point load above down to the foundation which is designed to handle the weight of the structure above.
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